Shen Jingbin put away her phone and plastered a warm and respectful smile on her face, causing Mama Jian and Jian Cishu, who were secretly evaluating her, to be shocked.
"Grandpa Zhao, Uncle, Aunt. Sorry about this, but something cropped up so we need to leave. We wonât be able to stay with you for the rest of the meal."
Mama Zhao couldnât wait for these two to disappear from her sight, but at the same time, she felt that allowing them to leave just like that would be letting them go too easily.
"Why are the two of you leaving without eating a single thing? Have a bite before you go. Otherwise, it wouldnât be good if word got out that we couldnât even treat the two of you to a single meal."
Sensing Old Master Zhao suppressing his rage even further, Papa Zhao finally couldnât take it anymore and roared in anger, "Shut your mouth!"
Mama Zhao flinched in response before she promptly shut up.
Old Master Zhao tiredly shut his eyes before he turned to look at Shen Jingbin and said, "The two of you should leave if youâve got something on."
Seeing the state Old Master Zhao was in, Shen Jingbin thought for a bit before she said, "Grandpa Zhao, you donât need to worry. Shen Jingchen and I are in B City because we have an internship here. Weâll be staying for a while, so weâll definitely visit again some other time. Also, my Grandpa will probably be coming to B City a little later as well. Donât blame us for being annoying when we come to visit you."
"Ole Shenâs coming?" As expected, that got Old Master Zhaoâs attention. "Really?"
"Mhm. Iâm not too sure about my Grandpa, but my Grandma and parents will be coming."
"Good, good! Come then, but let me know beforehand so I can prepare!" Old Master Zhao replied delightedly.
"Alright, weâll leave first then. Sorry about this."
"No worries, I know you youngsters are busy. I know, what about this? Ah Ning, send Little Jing and Little Chen off."
"Okay, Grandpa."
Zhao Chengning agreed and stood up at almost the same time Old Master Zhao spoke. He then stepped back to make way for Shen Jingbin and Shen Jingchen before following after them.
Old Master Zhaoâs smile immediately disappeared after the three of them left. He swept his gaze to Mama Jian and Jian Cishu before saying blandly, "An Ningâs sending them off, so thereâs no need to wait for him. Letâs eat first."
Mama Jian and Jian Cishu felt their faces flush and silently ate their food.
Mama Zhao, on the other hand, poked at the food in her bowl in anger, feeling stifled because she couldnât find an outlet for it.
When they exited the restaurant, the siblings heaved a long sigh of relief in unison.
Shen Jingchen said half jokingly to Zhao Chengning, "Ah Ning, your Momâs a real piece of work; even our Empress Dowager at home doesnât make me feel so pressured."
Zhao Chengning gave them an apologetic look and said, "Iâm really sorry about today, my Mother is..."
Shen Jingbin cut him off. "Donât worry about it, go back to eat. You donât need to send us off; we can get back on our own."
Zhao Chengning shook his head. "Weâve interrupted your dinner, so allow me to make it up to you guys. Letâs go, Iâll take you guys someplace else to eat." When it looked like Shen Jingbin was going to reject him, he added, "At this time, it wonât be easy finding another decent restaurant on your own. Itâll be better if I bring you guys to one."
The siblings were quite picky when it came to food, so they accepted his proposal after a momentâs hesitation.
In the end, Shen Jingbin got into Zhao Chengningâs car and made their way towards the new restaurant, while Shen Jingchen followed behind them in their own car.
After passing by a traffic light, Shen Jingchen looked at Zhao Chengningâs car in front of him and suddenly felt a strange sense of familiarity. Why did his little sister choose to sit in some other guyâs car when he was driving?
Furthermore, why was did this situation feel familiar? It was as though something similar had happened in the past. How strange.
In the end, Zhao Chengning brought the two to a private Sze Chuan restaurant 1. The food there was pretty good, and the two siblings were very happy. On their way back, Shen Jingbin chose to sit in Zhao Chengningâs car once again.
When they reached their apartment, Shen Jingchen drove straight towards the underground parking lot. Zhao Chengning, on the other hand, stopped below their unit. Shen Jingbin thanked him and was about to alight when she grabbed the handle and found that it was still locked. She turned to look at him in confusion.
"Are you angry?" Zhao Chengning looked into her eyes and asked.
It was getting late, and the sky had already turned as dark as ink. The street lights shone dimly beneath their unit, with barely any light filtering through the carâs tinted windows. The lights in the car were off as well, so Shen Jingbin was unable to see Zhao Chengningâs expression. She could only vaguely feel his scorching gaze on her.
Not bothering about whether he could see her, she gently shook her head and said, "Iâm not."
"Why arenât you angry? My Mother really did go a little overboard today."
Shen Jingbin laughed. "Your Motherâs your Mother; she isnât you. Her actions only represent her own thoughts. Iâm not the kind of person whoâll take my anger out on someone undeserving of it." She paused for a few moments before continued in a low voice, "Thankfully, you didnât play along with her. Otherwise, I might really have gotten angry with you... Do you think thatâs bad of me?"
Zhao Chengning felt like touching her face, but couldnât find the courage to do so. "No, Iâm fine with anything as long as youâre not angry with me."
"You really know how to butter a person up."
"Is that so? I was worried I didnât have it in me. Oh right, why didnât you tell me you were here in B City with Shen Jingchen for an internship?"
"Mm. It was a last minute decision, and I bumped into you before I had the chance to tell you."
"How long are you interning for?"
"Mm, Iâm going to be here for the entire holiday."
"Then what about the New Year?"
"My Mom said theyâll come over to celebrate."
Zhao Chengning gave a gentle laugh. "Sounds good."
"Hm? Whatâs so good about that?"
"Everything about it is good."
Just then, they heard a knock on the window and saw Shen Jingchenâs face plastered on it, with him opening and closing his mouth saying something they couldnât make sense of.
Shen Jingbin shot a glance at her stupid looking brother before she turned to Zhao Chengning and said, "Iâll be going."
"Mm, rest early. Good night."
"You too, drive safely. Good night."
Itâs a kind of restaurant that doesnât appear in any directory and doesnât have a signboard either. Usually looks like any regular apartment â©